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Biographical  Sketch 


=  of  = 

Xlbomas  jf .  IDallowell 

N— »"*■■■>  . . . 


Rev.  E.  M.  Hursh 


literature  department. 
Women's  Missionary  Association. 
United  Brethren  in  Christ. 
406-408  Otterbein  Press  Bldg., 
Dayton,  Ohio. 

PRICE  2  CENTS 


Biographical  Sketch 
—of — 

Thomas  F.  Hallowell 

Rev.  E.  M.  Hursh. 

The  grace  of  God  has  worked  no  greater  miracle  than 
is  wrought  when  a  man  or  woman,  boy  or  girl  is  saved 
from  the  awful  bondage  of  heathenism  and  Mohamme¬ 
danism  as  found  in  West  Africa  and  many  other  portions 
of  the  Dark  Continent.  Here  is  briefly  told  the  story  of 
how  one  young  man  was  set  free  and  of  the  wonderful 
work  he  has  been  doing  in  liberating  others. 

In  a  town  not  many  miles  from  Rotifunk,  Sierra 
Leone,  a  child  was  born  about  sixty  years  ago  whose 
parents  were  of  the  Lokkoh  and  Temne  tribes,  and  who, 
like  many  of  their  tribesmen,  were  followers  of  the 
Mohammedan  religion.  His  father  was  also  a  member 
of  the  royal  family. 

At  birth  he  of  course  submitted  to  the  usual  tribal 
ceremonies  and  at  various  times  thereafter  during  baby¬ 
hood,  which  would  often  be  performed  with  utter  disre¬ 
gard  to  the  kindly,  gentle  touches  so  tenderly  adminis¬ 
tered  in  the  Christian  nursery.  He  was  “toted”  on  his 
mother’s  back  as  she  would  go  on  long  journeys  or  as 
she  bent  over  her  work  in  kitchen  and  farm.  When  old 
enough  to  work  he  gathered  fire  wood,  carried  water — 
the  head  being  the  principal  burden  bearer.  Certainly 
no  other  part  of  his  anatomy  could  have  borne  so  great 
a  strain.  And  the  secret  of  an  African  child’s  ability  to 
carry  such  remarkably  heavy  loads  on  its  head,  burdens 
that  it  could  scarcely  lift  with  its  two  hands,  is  doubtless 
largely  due  to  the  hardening  and  thickening  process  of 
the  skull  which  result  from  the  hot  rays  of  the  sun  to 
which  it  is  always  exposed  while  being  carried  on  its 
mother’s  back,  and  especially  to  the  early  development 
of  the  muscles  of  the  neck  which  are  constantly  employed 
in  holding  the  head  erect  while  tied  to  its  mother’s  back 
regardless  of  the  position  and  movements  of  her  body. 

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When  he  was  about  fourteen  years  old  he  was 

“stolen”  from  his  home  by  the  “porroh  devil”  and  carried 
to  the  secret  “bush  school,”  where  with  other  boys  of 
about  the  same  age  he  was  given  an  intensive  course  of 
instruction.  There  he  was  taught  tribal  law,  ceremonial 
law,  native  religious  beliefs  (superstitions  as  we  call 
them),  the  art  of  war  and  work;  in  short,  there  he  was 
taught  all  the  “shalts”  and  “shalt  nots”  included  in  the 
African’s  category  of  the  “whole  duty  of  man.”  At  the 
time  of  his  initiation  and  at  different  times  during  the 
two  or  three  months’  session  of  the  “bush  school”  and 
^^gain  at  its  close,  he  and  his  companions  were  subjected 
to  ceremonies  with  such  severe  physical  strain  which  the 
weaker  youths  often  do  not  survive. 

In  addition  to  being  taught  all  the  heathen  rites,  being 
the  son  of  a  Mohammedan,  he  was  among  that  group  of 
boys  of  his  native  town  who  were  taught  Moslem  pray¬ 
ers  and  the  Koran.  With  a  board  for  a  slate  on  which 
the  Priest  wrote  the  Arabic  characters  by  means  of  a 
delible  solution,  he  became  familiar  with  large  portions 
of  the  Koran,  which  he  and  his  comrades  would  say 
over  and  over  in  loud  voices,  each  “on  his  own.”  “Silence 
is  golden” — but  not  in  a  Mohammedan  school,  where  but 
for  the  noise  it  would  not  be  a  school.  And  so  far  as 
the  boys  are  concerned  it  is  as  senseless  as  it  is  noisy. 
Familiar  with  the  Koran  did  we  say?  Familiar  only  in 
the  sense  that  they  committed  it  to  memory  scarcely 
knowing  a  word  of  the  Arabic  language  in  which  it  is 
written.  But  this  made  little  difference  to  the  teachers 
and  because  the  boy  of  our  story  was  alert  and  quick  to 
learn  and  early  showed  elements  of  leadership  which  be¬ 
came  more  pronounced  as  he  grew  into  manhood,  he  was 
picked  out  for  the  priesthood  and  was  to  be  trained  with 
this  in  view. 

But  he  was  industrious  as  well  as  ambitious  and  was 
not  fully  satisfied  to  idle  his  time  away  as  a  scholar  in 
such  a  doleful  school,  nor  was  he  afraid  to  work. 

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However,  he  could  not  help  but  feel  the  importance  of 
his  social  status.  His  father  was  not  only  a  “big  man” 
in  the  country,  belonging  to  the  ruling  class,  but  he  was 
a  leader  among  the  Mohammedans.  So  viewed  from  the 
standpoint  of  his  tribe  he  had  every  prospect  for  a  bright 
future  before  him  and  pride  naturally  filled  his  heart. 
Yet  he  was  not  indifferent  to  what  was  going  on  around 
him,  he  used  his  eyes  and  ears  for  the  purpose  they  were 
intended,  and  thus  he  saw  and  heard.  His  active  senses 
and  keen  mind  brought  him  to  the  turning  point  in  his 
life. 

He  came  into  contact  with  the  work  of  our  Mission. 
Our  pioneer  native  teacher,  whose  name  was  Mosumana 
Soko,  conducted  a  night  school  in  a  small  town  not  far 
from  Rotifunk.  The  school  was  held  on  an  open  veranda 
so  that  all  who  would  could  see  and  hear  what  was  going 
on.  At  this  time  the  subject  of  our  story  lived  in  this 
town.  But,  being  a  Mohammedan,  he  of  course  would 
hardly  be  allowed  to  go  to  the  school.  He  was  neverthe¬ 
less  attracted  by  the  singing  and  reciting  of  those  who 
did  attend.  He  was  particularly  impressed  when  the 
boys  and  girls  kneeled  and  repeated  the  Lord’s  Prayer  in 
concert.  He  overheard  the  petition — “Forgive  us  our 
sins,”  and  this  lodged  in  his  mind  and  tormented  him  day 
and  night.  His  proud  spirit  was  finally  so  humbled  that 
he  condescended  to  ask  the  teacher  this  question,  “Who  is 
it  that  forgives  sin?”  In  answering,  the  teacher  had  a 
splendid  opportunity  to  sow  good  seed  in  the  young 
man’s  heart. 

Sometime  not  long  after  he  was  one  of  the  crew  that 
was  rowing  a  boat  load  of  produce  to  Freetown.  The 
railway  that  was  later  built  through  that  section  had 
not  come  as  far  as  Rotifunk,  so  it  was  necessary  for  them 
to  pass  down  the  Bompeh  river  and  put  out  to  sea 
through  Yorah  Bay,  then  the  last  half  of  the  journey  had 
to  be  made  in  the  open  sea.  On  this  particular  trip  all 
went  very  well  until  they  approached  Freetown  harbour 


4 


where  there  is  often  a  high  wind,  counter  currents  and 
unfavorable  tide.  And  on  this  occasion  the  elements 
were  against  their  small  craft.  When  the  crew  became 
alarmed  they  began  to  pray,  but  they  prayed  to  the  god 
of  the  Koran.  They  repeated  their  creed  over  and  over 
again:  “There  is  no  god  but  god  and  Mohammed  is  his 
prophet,  there  is  no  god  but  god  and  Mohammed  is  his 
prophet.”  But  all  to  no  avail.  They  began  to  throw 
their  cargo  overboard  and  yet  there  seemed  to  be  no 
hope  of  safety.  Finally  the  young  “priest”  remembered. 
He  remembered  the  words  of  the  teacher  in  the  mission 
school  and  he  at  once  began  to  pray  to  God  through  Jesus 
Christ  who  forgives  sin.  This  prayer  was  answered  im¬ 
mediately,  all  were  saved  and  with  great  joy  they  landed. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  this  incident  lead  to 
the  conversion  of  Thomas  Hallowell.  He  returned  to 
the  town  back  in  the  country  and  at  once  became  a  pupil 
in  the  mission  night  school.  And  the  way  in  which  he 
o^ot  his  new  name  so  soon  after  his  conversion  seems  a 
remarkable  coincidence.  Mrs.  M.  E.  A.  Hallowell,  of  Los 
Angeles,  California,  had  written  the  teacher  of  this  night 
school  and  asked  him  to  give  the  name  of  her  deceased 
husband  to  one  of  his  boys.  And  thus  he  was  given  the 
name,  Thomas  F.  Hallowell,  in  memory  of  a  very  good 

and  faithful  minister  of  the  Gospel.  Did  the  name  given 
by  this  praying  woman  cause  the  mantle  to  fall  upon  this 

babe  in  Christ,  or  had  the  mantel  fallen  upon  him  before, 
or  was  it  the  combination  of  circumstances,  seemingly 
providentially  timed,  that  caused  the  witness  of  the  Spirit 
in  Thomas  Hallowell’s  life  that  has  never  ceased  to  be  a 
powerful  testimony  to  the  efficacy  of  the  gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God?  Whatever  the  answer — it  was  God,  who 
“moves  in  a  mysterious  way  His  wonders  to  perform.” 

Soon  after  he  entered  the  night  school  one  of  the  ter¬ 
rible  tribal  wars  broke  out,  putting  an  end  to  the  work 
there,  and  Thomas  with  other  boys  escaped  to  Rotifunk. 
Here  he  entered  school  in  August,  1884.  It  should  be 
remembered  that  when  he  was  converted  at  the  age  of 

5 


twenty-four  he  could  neither  read  nor  write  a  word  of 
English.  To  him  all  things  had  become  new;  a  new 
faith,  a  new  name  and  a  new  opportunity  to  make  possible 
the  living  of  a  new  life.  He  boldly  witnessed  for  Christ 
from  the  beginning.  He  soon  became  a  good  inter¬ 
preter  and  he  was  a  good  student  in  school.  He  took  a 
courageous  stand  against  both  fetish  and  Moslem  prac¬ 
tices.  One  incident  shows  his  contempt  for  the  religion 
of  his  fathers  and  the  daring  with  which  he  attacked  it. 
While  in  the  mission  home  at  Rotifunk  he  with  one  of 
the  other  boys  cast  the  “devil”  (stone  covered  with  white 
cloth)  of  the  Rotifunk  chief,  in  the  river,  took  away  the 
food  that  had  been  sacrificed  to  it  and  burned  the  “devil 
house,”  a  small  shrine  in  which  the  devil  lived.  For  his 
graduating  essay  he  choose  the  subject  “Mohammedan¬ 
ism  and  Its  Followers.” 

The  girl,  afterwards  named  Bessie  Weeks,  who  was  to 
become  his  wife  lived  in  an  out-station.  Desiring  her 
to  have  the  same  privileges  of  securing  an  education  that 
he  enjoyed  he  brought  her  to  the  Rotifunk  school.  The 
marriage  was  hastened,  however,  when  Thomas  saw  the 
possibility  of  his  hopes  being  shattered  because  another 
man  was  offering  her  parents  more  money  than  he  could 
pay  them.  The  wedding  was  forthwith  arranged  for  and 
the  ceremony  was  the  first  to  be  performed  in  the  Rotifunk 
chapel,  which  was  the  first  chapel  and  new  at  that  time. 
Much  interest  was  created  in  the  community  by  this 
Christian  marriage,  which  took  place  in  the  year  1886. 

Thomas  continued  in  school  until  he  completed  his 
course  ten  years  later,  and  Bessie,  his  wife,  also  continued 
to  go  to  school  after  their  marriage  until  after  their  sec¬ 
ond  baby  was  born  when  she  asserted  her  Christian  right 
and  declared  that  she  would  not  go  to  school  with  one 
pickin’  tied  on  her  back  and  with  another  at  her  side, 
and  she  didn’t ;  this  is  the  first  triumph  of  “women’s 
rights”  on  record  in  the  work  of  the  W.  M.  A.  in  Sierra 
Leone.  But  with  what  this  plucky,  sweet  spirited,  little 


6 


woman  had  already  received  in  the  school  and  with  the 
help  her  good  husband  afterward  gave  her  in  the  home, 
her  education,  though  somewhat  meager,  has  been  a  great 
blessing  to  herself  and  family  and  all  with  whom  she 
comes  in  contact.  She  reads  and  writes,  loves  her  Bible 
and  actively  supports  her  husband  in  his  work.  After 
they  had  been  married  for  over  twenty-five  years  Thomas 
took  great  delight  in  saying  to  one  of  the  missionaries  that 
it  had  never  been  necessary  to  call  in  a  third  person  to 
settle  a  “palaver”  between  him  and  his  wife.  And  those 
who  know  with  what  constant  peril  a  Christian  home  is 
surrounded  in  Africa  are  ready  to  testify  that  nothing 
but  the  grace  of  God  can  preserve  the  sanctity  of  such  a 
home  established  as  it  is  in  a  polygamous  social  order 
where  morality  and  religion  have  so  little  in  common. 
Their  two  children,  a  girl  and  a  boy  have  both  grown 
and  are  married.  James,  the  younger,  was  graduated 
from  Albert  Academy  in  1913,  and  has  since  been  a 
teacher  and  itinerant  in  the  employ  of  the  Mission.  He 
was  married  in  October,  1918,  to  Miss  Sarah  Ann  Ma- 
cauley,  a  Temne  girl,  who  had  been  trained  in  the 
Moyamba  Girls’  Home. 

Immediately  following  his  school  days  at  Rotifunk 
he  accepted  an  appointment  from  the  Mission  and  has 
actively  and  zealously  engaged  in  preaching  the  Gospel 
ever  since.  His  work  was  at  Rotifunk  up  to  the  time 
of  the  uprising  in  1898.  As  is  wrell  known,  at  this 
tragic  hour  in  the  history  of  the  W.  M.  A.  work  many 
native  Christians  along  with  five  of  our  missionaries 
were  massacred  there.  Thomas  did  all  in  his  power  to 
prevent  these  awful  atrocities,  but  all  in  vain  were  his 
efforts  to  protect  his  friends  and  stay  the  hands  of  the 
cruel  perpetrators.  But  his  own  life  was  spared,  and, 
dare  we  not  say,  divinely  so.  In  writing  to  the  Super¬ 
intendent  of  the  Mission  in  Freetown,  on  the  3rd  of 
May,  1918,  Thomas — or  shall  we  not  .now  call  him 
“Pa  Hallowell”  as  he  is  better  known  and  familiarly 

7 


called  by  al  his  friends  and  associates  on  the  field — 
wrote : 

“Rather  than  do  anything  else  these  days,  I  feel  to 
be  quiet  and  spend  the  time  alone  in  prayer  with  my 
Bible,  for  the  awful  memories  of  what  happened  twenty 
years  ago  to-day  are  deeply  impressed  on  my  mind. 
There  is  great  sadness  in  my  heart  when  I  think  of  our 
dear  missionaries  who  then  laid  down  their  lives,  but 
I  am  thankful,  too,  for  all  they  did,  for  what  they  did 
for  me  and  that  God  spared  me  to  do  a  great  work.  I 
now  feel  to  do  a  much  greater  work  to  prove  my  love 
to  Jesus  Christ  who  gave  His  life  for  me  and  all  my  peo¬ 
ple  many  of  whom  are  yet  unsaved.” 

While  pursuing  his  active  duties  as  a  mission  worker 
he  has  been  a  student,  as  well,  much  of  the  time.  Soon 
after  he  took  active  work  he  began  to  read  for  the  min¬ 
istry.  He  began  with  the  quarterly  conference  reading 
course  which  he  finished  within  a  few  years  and  then 
he  took  up  the  more  arduous  task  of  reading  the  books 
of  the  annual  conference  preachers’  course.  From  year 
to  year  he  persisted  and  sat  to  his  examination  in  one 
or  more  books.  After  the  Theological  Institute  was 
organized  in  1907,  which  was  in  session  three  weeks 
each  year,  he  took  advantage  of  the  help  this  offered  the 
licentiates.  So  by  patience,  prayer,  and  persistent  effort 
he  finished  his  course  in  a  satisfactory  manner  and  was 
ordained  along  with  two  other  licentiates  at  the  annual 
conference  held  at  Freetown,  in  January,  1910,  by  Dr. 
J.  R.  King,  then  Superintendent.  Only  the  miracle 
working  Gospel  could  work  the  mighty  change  that  made 
of  this  man  an  Elder  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  who,  but 
for  the  miracle,  would  have  become  a  blind  leader  of  the 
blind,  a  priest  of  a  false  religion — Mohammedanism. 

When  the  work  of  reconstruction  was  undertaken 
following  the  uprising  of  1898,  several  stations  were 
opened  in  the  Yonnie  section  of  the  Temne  country. 
Makunda  had  opened  in  1895.  Thomas  Hallowed  who 
has  been  the  leading  factor  in  the  development  of  all  the 

8 


work  in  that  section  was  sent  to  reopen  Makunda  in 
1899.  A  piece  of  ground  was  secured,  a  mission  house 
and  barrie  chapel  were  erected.  Within  a  few  years 
a  church  was  organized  and  of  course  a  school  was  con¬ 
ducted  from  the  beginning.  The  next  station  to  be 
opened  was  Ronietta,  the  paramount  chiefs  town  about 
eight  miles  northeast  of  Makunda.  Pa  Hallowed  was 
appointed  to  open  this  work  in  1904. 

The  paramount  chief,  Foula  Mansa,  was  converted 
under  his  preaching  and  from  the  day  he  found  Christ 
he  used  his  powerful  influence  to  help  forward  the  work 
of  the  Mission.  A  splendid  site  was  secured  for  the 
mission  and  in  a  short  time  the  grounds  were  well  laid 
out,  a  mission  house  was  built  and  a  little  later  a  sub¬ 
stantial  adobe  chapel  was  erected,  both  buildings  were 
covered  with  an  iron  roof.  Flowering  plants  and  fruit 
trees  were  planted  which  have  long  since,  from  year  to 
year,  adorned  the  grounds  with  beautiful  flowers  and 
abundant  fruitage.  In  a  few  years  those  who  had  been 
won  to  Christ  were  organized  into  a  church  which  now 
has  a  membership  of  over  fifty  and  which  is  taking  steps 
towards  becoming  self-supporting. 

To  fully  appreciate  his  strong  personality  and  wonder¬ 
ful  message,  one  must  hear  Pa  Hallowell  preach  to  his 
own  people  in  his  and  their  own  tongue.  One  may  sit 
and  listen  and  not  know  the  meaning  of  a  single  word 
spoken,  yet  the  whole  message  is  given  in  such  a  con¬ 
vincing  manner  and  with  so  much  force,  judging  from 
the  response  from  those  who  do  hear  and  from  the  way 
he  throws  his  whole  soul  and  body  into  it,  that  you  are 
persuaded  that  he  believes  what  he  says  and  that  it  is 
born  of  deep  conviction  and  experience.  So,  from  day 
to  day,  while  at  work  in  his  station  or  while  itinerating 
among  the  many  towns  of  the  surrounding  country  that 
marvelous  Gospel  story  is  told  with  increasing  power  as 
it  becomes  more  deeply  rooted  in  his  own  soul.  He  has 
multiplied  his  usefulness  many  fold  during  the  past  few 
years  by  using  a  bicycle  in  his  itinerating  work.  We 


will  possibly  never  know  how  much  good  seed  he  has 
sown  to  undermine  the  doctrines  of  Mohammedanism 
whose  devotees  he  brings  to  confusion  through  his  hum¬ 
ble  manner  and  direct  gospel  message. 

But  to  understand  fully  the  secret  of  his  power  we 
must  not  overlook  that  invisible  spiritual  force  that  was 
projected  from  the  life  of  that  quiet,  frail  little  woman 
of  California,  who  until  the  time  of  her  death  in  1914,  in 
the  spirit — through  faith  and  prayer — walked  by  the 
side  of  her  “son  in  the  Lord,”  as  she  always  referred  to 
Thomas.  She  took  a  vital  interest  in  the  work  of  the 
W.  M.  A.  at  Rotifunk  from  the  beginning.  She  famil¬ 
iarized  herself  with  the  names  of  places  and  people, 
native  converts  and  missionaries,  chiefs  and  all  the  prob¬ 
lems  of  the  work.  But  she  took  especial  interest  in 
Thomas  Hallowed  and  through  him  she  learned  to  know 
and  love  the  Yonnie  people.  “By  faith  she  claimed  the 
whole  Yonnie  country  for  the  Lord  and,  as  the  years 
went  by,  she  saw  many  triumphs.  The  Yonnies  boast 
they  have  never  been  conquered,  but  when  they  said 
that,  they  did  not  reckon  with  Mrs.  Hallowed.  She 
claimed  that  land  for  the  King  as  definitely  as  the 
patriarchs  claimed  Canaan.” 

In  answer  to  her  prayers  for  the  Yonnie  people  money 
was  placed  in  her  hands.  This  she  would  send  direct  to 
her  son  in  the  Lord,  the  human  agent  through  whom  the 
Spirit  of  God  witnessed  in  reaching  the  people  for 
which  her  spirit  pleaded  daily.  With  the  money  she 
also  sent  names  which  she  asked  Thomas  to  give  to 
boys  and  girls  who  were  committed  to  his  care  for  train¬ 
ing,  and  whom  the  money  was  intended  to  support  in 
his  home.  In  this  way  he  was  enabled  to  keep  from  10 
to  15  children  in  his  home  each  year.  They  were 
sent  to  school  and  nurtured  under  the  good  influence  of 
his  Christian  household.  A  number  of  boys  and  girls 
who  were  thus  trained  in  his  home  and  at  the  school  at 
Ronietta  were  sent  to  the  Academy  and  Moyamba  Girls’ 


10 


Home  for  further  training.  Some  are  now  in  the  active 
service  of  the  Mission. 

When  we  know  of  the  unity  of  spirit  and  the  fellow¬ 
ship  in  service  that  existed  in  the  hearts  of  both  these 
humble  servants  of  God,  who,  though  separated  by  a 
sea  and  a  continent,  worked  hand  in  hand,  heart  in  heart, 
in  unison  with  the  will  of  God,  month  after  month  and 
year  after  year,  then  we  understand  the  secret  of  their 
triumphs. 

The  question  has  possibly  arisen  in  our  minds  ere 
this,  as  to  whether  this  sturdy  Christian  crusader  does 
not  suffer  persecution.  From  the  outset  many  of  his 
former  friends  and  companions  turned  their  backs  upon 
him,  but  it  was  not  until  after  he  had  won  the  favor  of 
many  of  his  former  associates  when  he  was  well  on  in 
his  work  at  Ronietta  that  he  came  to  know  that  his  life 
was  actually  endangered  through  the  enmity  of  these 
very  men  during  his  early  Christian  life.  After  he  won 
their  friendship  and  support  through  his  preaching  and 
good  life,  they  told  him  that  when  he  went  on  his  itin¬ 
erating  trips,  they  went  before  him  and  lay  in  ambush 
for  him  by  the  way,  but  that  every  effort  of  theirs  to  ap¬ 
prehend  him  was  frustrated,  some  power  they  said 
seemed  to  prevent  them  from  moving.  Then  he  was 
told  by  others  that  they  tried  to  put  an  end  to  his  work 
by  putting  deadly  poisons  in  his  food  at  different  times, 
and  though  he  would  eat  of  the  food  he  would  not  even 
get  sick.  So  it  would  seem  that  to  this  man  of  God 
there  has  been  committed  the  same  power  that  Christ 
committed  to  the  seventy  when  He  said :  “Behold,  I  give 
unto  you  power  to  tread  on  serpents  and  scorpions,  and 
over  all  the  power  of  the  enemy;  and  nothing  shall  by 
any  means  hurt  you.”  Yes,  Thomas  Hallowell  has  suf¬ 
fered  persecution  of  sundry  varieties,  from  his  own  peo¬ 
ple,  from  his  associates  and  friends — but  he  is  unswerv¬ 
ing  and  bears  it  patiently  for  Jesus’  sake. 

In  1907  two  new  stations  were  opened ;  Roruks  a  few 


11 


miles  east  of  Ronietta  and  Yonnie  Banna,  a  paramount 
chief’s  town,  about  25  miles  farther  east.  A  new  railway 
line  was  built  which  would  ultimately  pass  through 
these  towns.  After  his  ordination  in  1910,  Pa  Hallowed 
was  made  a  district  superintendent  of  the  whole  Yonnie 
country.  So  in  addition  to  his  station  duties  at  Ronietta 
he  visited  the  work  and  counselled  with  the  workers  at 
Makunda,  Rokon,  Roruks  and  Yonnie  Banna.  He  re¬ 
mained  in  charge  of  the  work  at  Ronietta  until  the  an¬ 
nual  conference  of  1917  transferred  him  to  Yonnie  Banna, 

Because  of  the  importance  of  Yonnie  Banna  as  a  cen¬ 
ter  in  that  whole  section  it  seemed  wise  to  make  it  the 
headquarters  of  the  district.  The  conference,  therefore, 
placed  Pa  Hallowed  in  charge  with  a  view  to  his  develop¬ 
ing  this  station  as  a  strong  center  and  at  the  same  time 
continue  to  have  direct  oversight  of  the  entire  section. 

But  in  accepting  this  appointment  he  was  undertaking 
a  great  pioneering  task.  But  apart  from  this  considera¬ 
tion  it  was  naturally  not  an  easy  thing  for  him  to  break 
the  ties  that  had  been  formed  with  his  people  at  Ro¬ 
nietta  during  his  pastorate  of  13  years.  He  had  become 
a  great,  good  father  to  them  all.  They  came  to  him  with 
all  their  petty  complaints  and  many  ills.  He  became 
more  attached  to  the  people  during  the  reign  of  the 
wicked  chiefs,  referred  to  above,  for  they  sought  the  man 
of  God  rather  than  these  “devil  worshippers.” 

In  fact  at  one  time  during  his  pastorate  at  Ronietta, 
the  people  of  his  native  town  came  to  cad  him  to  be 
their  king.  He  belonged  to  the  regal  line  and  the  chief¬ 
taincy  belonged  to  him.  And  do  not  think  that  it  was 
not  a  temptation  to  him  to  go  back  with  them  and  be¬ 
come  their  king.  He  would  have  been  justified  in  ar¬ 
guing  that  he  could  do  more  for  his  people  as  a  Chris¬ 
tian  chief  than  should  a  pagan  or  Mohammedan  occupy 
that  important  post.  But  his  better  judgment  prevailed, 
the  dangers  to  his  own  spiritual  life  and  the  handicaps 
the  position  of  chief  would  place  upon  him  as  a  Chris- 

12 


tian  outweighed  the  advantages  it  would  be  to  the  Gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ  which  he  had  been  called  to  preach. 

But  it  was  no  small  trial  for  him  to  leave  Ronietta 
which  he,  with  his  industrious  wife  and  family,  had  made 
so  homelike  and  such  a  blessing  to  themselves  and  the 
people  of  the  whole  community.  Going  to  Yonnie 
Banna  meant  beginning  over  again.  It  meant  laying  out 
a  new  compound,  erecting  new  buildings  and  planting 
flowers  and  trees,  all  of  which  they  had  earned  by  the 
fruit  of  their  labor  at  the  station  they  were  now  asked  to 
leave.  But  after  praying  the  matter  through  he  most 
willingly  undertook  the  new  pioneering  task. 

When  he  arrived  at  Yonnie  Banna  the  paramount 
chief  (regent)  was  very  ill  and  was  away  from  his  town 
receiving  medical  treatment  from  a  government  doctor 
for  a  full  year  from  that  time. 

Pa  Hallowell  visited  his  sick  chief  a  number  of  times, 
and  though  he  had  been  a  professed  follower  of  Mo¬ 
hammed  for  sometime  before,  he  was  lead  to  pray 
through  Jesus  Christ  and  become  a  humble  seeker  of 
truth.  When  he  returned  to  his  town,  having  recovered 
from  his  illness,  early  in  1918  he  again  undertook  the  re¬ 
sponsible  duties  of  ruling  his  people.  But  before  he  now 
would  hear  an  important  case  in  his  court  he  called  Pa 
Hallowed  and  asked  him  to  pray  with  him.  He  was 
ready  at  once,  too,  to  throw  himself  into  the  great  build¬ 
ing  enterprise  for  the  Mission  that  was  awaiting  him. 
A  fine  piece  of  ground  of  possibly  fifty  acreas  was  marked 
off  for  the  Mission.  He  called  a  meeting  of  ad  of  his  sub¬ 
chiefs  who  were  asked  to  co-operate  with  him  in  supply¬ 
ing  men  and  material  to  erect  the  buildings.  A  mission 
house,  teacher’s  house,  school  building  and  church  were 
to  be  built.  These  were  ad  to  be  substantial  adobe  build¬ 
ings,  ad  of  which,  except  the  church,  would  be  covered 
with  bamboo  thatch  for  the  present  owing  to  war  prices 
for  better  roofing  material.  Iron  had  been  purchased  be¬ 
fore  the  war  for  the  covering  of  a  church  building.  The 


13 


church  was  to  be  a  much  better  building  in  every  way 
than  the  others.  It  was  to  have  a  concrete  foundation, 
more  substantially  built  walls  with  a  corrugated  iron  roof. 
And  it  was  to  be  built  in  memory  of  Mrs.  M.  E.  A.  Hal¬ 
lowed,  a  fitting  memorial  to  the  woman  whose  prayers 
when  fully  answered  will  have  conquered  the  whole  Yon- 
nie  country.  Well,  this  great  project  was  begun  and 
proceeded  so  splendidly  that  by  the  end  of  1918  most  of 
the  work  was  completed.  Some  work  remained  on  the 
church.  The  foundation  stone  was  laid  by  Bishop  A.  T. 
Howard  early  in  December,  though  the  walls  were  almost 
completed  when  this  stone  was  placed  in  position. 

This  building  enterprise  demonstrates  in  a  wonderful 
way  what  Christian  leadership  in  Africa  is  capable  of 
accomplishing.  Having  won  the  paramount  chief,  Pa 
Hallowed  through  his  co-operation  won  the  support  of  ad 
the  sub-chiefs  of  the  entire  chieftancy.  They  responded 
by  giving  men  and  building  material.  There  were  from 
two  to  three  hundred  men  at  work  gathering  material 
from  the  “bush”  and  constructing  these  buildings  much 
of  the  time  while  the  work  was  going  on.  Their  presence 
became  the  finest  possible  evangelistic  opportunity.  And 
the  opportunity  was  seized.  Each  day  during  the  rest 
hour  at  noon  Pa  Hallowed  gave  a  gospel  message  and 
the  men  were  taught  to  sing  gospel  songs.  Possibly  but 
few  of  these  men  knew  much  of  the  gospel  story  before 
they  came  together  there.  The  interest  of  that  whole 
section  of  the  Temne  country  will  be  centered  in  the 
righteous  cause  that  is  being  established  at  Yonnie  Banna 
and  which  in  turn  will  be  propagated  from  it  as  a  center. 
Already  a  number  of  the  chiefs  who  have  cooperated  in 
this  work  are  appealing  to  the  Mission  for  teachers. 

When  the  work  was  first  begun  two  of  the  chiefs  failed 
to  respond  in  supplying  the  material  asked  for.  But  in  a 
letter  to  the  superintendent  of  the  Mission,  Pa  Hallowed 
explains  how  this  difficulty  was  overcome.  He  wrote: 

“You  will  be  glad  to  hear  of  another  victory  we  have 

14 


won  in  the  building  work.  A  few  days  ago  the  other  two 
chiefs  under  Capri  Yonnie,  Satimaka  of  Monika  and 
Kaina  Foray  of  Tondu,  seemed  to  decline  to  furnish 
materials  for  their  buildings.  The  paramount  chief  him¬ 
self  saw  no  possible  way  to  influence  them.  I  said  to  the 
chief,  ‘By  the  grace  of  God,  I  shall  see  that  these  chiefs 
respond  to  carry  out  the  share  of  work  given  to  them.’ 
I  then  betook  myself  to  earnest  prayer.  I  told  my  Lord 
Jesus  of  the  lack  of  funds  for  this  great  work,  and  I  said, 
‘Thou  Lord,  hast  blest  these  people  with  the  riches  of 
this  country.  Influence  them  to  heartily  respond  to  the 
request  I  shall  set  before  them/  I  first  went  to  Sati¬ 
maka,  who,  after  expressing  my  views  as  to  his  responsi¬ 
bility  to  complete  the  mission  house,  said  he  would  be 
willing  to  furnish  the  thatching  material,  boards  and 
nails  for  all  the  work  and  see  that  the  house  is  completed. 
Then  I  went  to  Kaina  Foray  with  the  same  result.  This 
is  all  due  to  all  your  prayers,  and  we  should  all  be  en¬ 
couraged  to  pray.  There  are  many  other  blessed  inci¬ 
dents  that  I  cannot  write  about  now.” 

We  believe  that  Thomas  Hallowell  is  now  making  the 
supreme  effort  of  his  life.  But  he  is  no  longer  a  young 
man,  and  it  is  greatly  regretted  that  during  the  last  year 
he  has  not  enjoyed  the  same  robust  health  of  former 
years.  The  women  of  the  church  in  America  should  not 
fail  to  pray  unceasingly  for  him.  We  should  stand  to¬ 
gether  to  take  the  place  of  his  praying  “mother”  from 
whom  he  no  longer  receives  helpful  letters  that  always 
gave  him  great  encouragement  to  pray  and  have  faith  in 
God.  We  should  pray  too  that  many  of  the  younger  men 
now  in.  training  will  step  out  upon  God’s  promises  and 
be  as  fully  consecrated  to  the  Lord  as  this  great  exam- 
pier  whom  they  all  love  as  a  father. 

Truly  a  fountain  of  living  water  has  its  source  in  such 
a  life  which  gives  full  expression  to  John  7  :38.  And  as 
the  ceaseless  current  flows  into  thousands  of  open  hearts 
that  thirst,  there  is  no  way  to  limit  its  power,  for  it 

15 


reaches  as  deep  as  human  need,  filling  every  aching  void. 

So  may  our  prayers  be  added  that  it  might  flow  swifter 
and  swifter  and  that  branches  might  be  multiplied,  so  as 
to  increase  its  volume  and  wash  every  stronghold  of  evil 
from  its  base  and  leave  in  its  wake  only  the  plains  of 
Peace. 


LITERATURE  DEPARTMENT. 

Women's  Missionary  Association, 
United  Brethren  in  Christ, 
406-408  Otterbein  Press  Bldg., 
Dayton,  Ohio. 

PRICE  2  CENTS 


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